AI Model: gemini-3.0-flashChapter 16"I'm still the Head Chef, you brat. Did you forget this is my ship?" Zeff met his gaze.Sizzle.As the two locked eyes, it seemed as if lightning were flashing between them.No, it wasn't them."Yes, yes, my bad."Luffy scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.[Plan executed multiple times. Punishment reduced from Phase Two to Phase One. Food replenishment time reached. Warning: It is now time for [Learn Navigation Knowledge with Nami]. Please proceed immediately. Countdown: 30, 29... 1]Seeing the countdown for the first time, Luffy didn't panic; he actually felt like laughing.Go ahead and shock me. It has absolutely no effect on him.As long as it wasn't that specific kind of punishment, he could accept it.Zeff was, after all, a pirate who had spent a year in the Grand Line and returned unscathed; he had seen plenty of strange Devil Fruit Users.No matter how you looked at it, the Gum-Gum Fruit was just a paramecia-type devil fruit.What kind of tricks could it possibly pull?But what the hell was with the electricity sparking off his body?Rubber and lightning combined?It couldn't be a legendary Mythical Zoan, could it?At that moment, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted from the restaurant.Was someone causing trouble in the restaurant?Almost simultaneously, Zeff and Sanji's bickering ended. Their expressions turned grim, and their faces even began to twitch violently.Just by looking at their faces, one could feel their burning rage.Luffy had thought Sanji and Zeff were the calm types, the kind who wouldn't let anything shake their emotions.Now he knew better.Everyone has something in their heart that cannot be trampled upon.For Sanji and the others, it wasn't just about someone causing a scene.What did causing a scene imply?To a chef, this was more intolerable than being slapped in the face. It meant a waste of their hard work—it was a desecration of food!Luffy empathized. If someone did something unforgivable to his friends or his hat, he would be angry too.Just as it was now, Sanji's business was his business!Was the trouble caused by that Marine from earlier?"This place is being requisitioned by me, Don Krieg! Everyone except the chefs, get out!"A voice drifted in from outside, carrying a sense of reckless arrogance."Tsk, a troublesome fellow has arrived." Zeff's eye twitched.He knew exactly who it was the moment he heard the name. The East Blue wasn't that big; there were only a handful of pirates with any real reputation.Krieg, the man known as the Overlord of the East Blue, had a resounding reputation.This was why pirates were so obsessed with gaining fame.When you stepped out and announced your name, everyone recognized you instantly. The sense of achievement provided a massive surge of dopamine.Sanji took a deep drag of his cigarette, flicked the butt onto the floor, and crushed it. "What an impolite guest. He needs a proper lesson.""This is none of your business," Zeff said."Huh? This IS my business!" Sanji shot back immediately.The two looked like they were about to start arguing again over their disagreement."Alright, alright. I don't know what's going on yet, but Sanji's business is my business now. We're crewmates, aren't we?"Luffy grinned and pulled them apart."Straw Hat, this is my restaurant. It's not the place for a chore boy like you to interfere!" Zeff said without looking back."Get lost, you Rubber freak! I don't need you meddling in my restaurant!"The two were identical in their stubbornness.At that moment, Luffy sensed two slightly stronger presences flash by outside.Eh?This perception, which felt like a hunter's instinct, surprised him slightly.[It is now time for [Learn Navigation Knowledge with Nami]. Please proceed immediately.][Warning: Execute immediately. Punishment increased: 5,000,000 Volts!]Sizzle.Sanji and Zeff were still arguing when a bolt of electricity from Luffy's body instantly made them calm down.Holy crap, what is this?Their hearts tightened as they began to suspect if Luffy was an undercover agent sent by Krieg.Why are you shocking us?Chapter 18: On this day, humanity once again recalled the terror of being dominated by giants.In the restaurant, both chefs and chore boys picked up weapons.The weapons looked a bit pathetic; the best among them were merely clubs.Luffy's gaze swept over the group of pirates, lingering briefly on Krieg and a disheveled-looking man beside him.His heart stirred slightly.The aura emanating from these two was a bit different?They weren't ordinary like Usopp or Johnny; instead, they carried a murderous ferocity born from countless slaughters.This felt more like the instinctive intuition he had regarding an enemy's strength during battle—a hunter's sensory instinct—except this instinct seemed to have been significantly enhanced.The interior of the restaurant was already a mess.The chefs were on high alert. Even though there was only one opponent, his mere name made them incredibly nervous.The guests had long since fled in terror or were hiding in corners, shivering."I told you already, don't resist me! When I tell you to make food, you do it!" Krieg was incredibly arrogant."There's food for a hundred people here. Take it and move it to the ship."Zeff's sudden appearance made Krieg pause for a moment."Red-Leg Zeff? I didn't expect to run into an old acquaintance in this hellhole." The expression on Krieg's face shifted.Before he became the Overlord of the East Blue, Zeff's reputation was by no means small."Enough talk. Hand over your Grand Line logbook—the record that documents the weather, currents, and islands of the Grand Line! With it, I can head back to the Grand Line..."Back?"Has this old man been to the Grand Line too?"Luffy became interested.The East Blue was just the starting point. Luffy had heard pirate stories from Shanks and the others since he was a kid, and most of them took place in the Grand Line."You're a pirate too?" Krieg noticed Luffy."Of course. Did you just get back from the Grand Line?""Heh, the Grand Line isn't a place for scrawny monkeys like you or pirates without a heart of fear." Krieg's pupils reddened as if he were remembering something."If a loser of the Grand Line like you can go, why wouldn't someone who persistently pursues their dreams want to go?""Loser?"Zeff's direct tearing open of the wound caused Krieg's expression to collapse instantly.Krieg didn't stay any longer.He was going to feed his crew first, then return to seize the ship and the logbook."You... you guys should leave quickly." Gin's expression was pained.He didn't even dare to look Sanji in the eye.There were those who followed a code of honor even among pirates!This man was clearly not like his Captain, who would return a favor of food with betrayal."Commander Krieg won't give up on plundering this ship to go back to the Grand Line for revenge.""What happened to you in the Grand Line?""Our fleet was destroyed by a single man."One person?Fifty ships and five thousand subordinates—what kind of concept was that?Luffy naturally understood a bit now.And according to Gin, it only took one slash to destroy Krieg's fleet."That hawk-eyed man!""Hawkeye?!"The name made Zoro ecstatic.News of that man again."Heehee, Zoro, is that your opponent?" Luffy asked."Of course. Don't you dare try to take this guy from me." A fanatical expression appeared on Zoro's face.Do these two know who they're facing?Seeing their eager expressions, Gin felt both anxious and angry."Straw Hat, do you even know who you're dealing with?!""So what? We're going to conquer the Grand Line."If they backed down whenever they met someone strong, they might as well just put their hands behind their heads and surrender to the Marines right now.Don't dare to do this.Don't dare to do that.What's the point of being a pirate?"I like the sound of that, Captain," Zoro said."Is this person called Hawkeye some kind of famous powerhouse?" Usopp asked.His legs had already been shaking just from seeing Krieg.What would happen if he saw Hawkeye? He didn't even dare to imagine it."Yeah, a very famous powerhouse."Zoro withdrew his gaze and spoke."The levels between the strong are worlds apart. Don't look at how Krieg's group calls themselves overlords in the East Blue. Once they get to the Grand Line, even the ordinary bounty hunters active there could give them a massive headache... let alone those truly world-renowned powerhouses."Zeff nodded in agreement and added, "And that Hawkeye is an existence at the very peak of countless powerhouses. He is the pinnacle of all swordsmen in the world.""He is known as the worlds greatest swordsman!"The worlds greatest swordsman?"That is my goal, and the reason I set out to sea." Zoro's body was already trembling with excitement.
